Peer Mediation

Public Law 231-2001 amended the Indiana Code (IC 20-10.1-4-4.5) on “good citizenship instruction” to require schools to integrate into their curriculum “methods of conflict resolution.” This new law further directed the Indiana Department of Education to “identify and make available to school corporations models of conflict resolution instruction….” A resource guide is available to help schools meet their responsibilities under this new law.

There are a multitude of resources for conflict resolution available. This resource guide is designed to be a condensed, easy-to-read collection of conflict resolution materials. It includes curricula, study guides, teachers’ and students’ manuals, videos and activity books. It is not intended to include every available conflict resolution program but to provide a “highlight” of some of the better-known programs. Much of the list is taken directly from the U.S. Department of Justice “Conflict Resolution Education: A Guide to Implementing Programs in Schools, Youth-Serving Organizations, and Community and Juvenile Justice Settings Program Report,” by Donna Crawford and Richard Bodine, published in 1996 by the U.S. Department of Education. The “ Safe Schools , Safe Students: A Guide to Violence Prevention Strategies” by Drug Strategies (1998), and CRENet (Conflict Resolution Education Network) were also consulted.

Click below to look at the resource guide in PDF format. (You must have Adobe reader to download this file)

I believe that school counselors can assist schools in creating conflict resolution programs. One very important way is to implement peer mediation programs. Click here (Peer Mediation Program) to look at a peer mediation program.

It's also important to check out research on the topic. Here's an interesting article on ways peer mediation can be inhibited. This is a very useful topic for school counselors to read before beginning a peer mediation program.

Peer Mediation Article

Another concept to consider for conflict resolution is the idea of classroom meetings. A school counselor could help teachers implement such a program. Here is a program brochure of a program I created for classroom meetings.